BLM OR/WA - Pink Sand Verbena Habitat Monitoring and Improvement, Coos Bay Distric
The Bureau of Land Management has been working with the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) since 2001 to re-introduce and monitor the Pink Sand-verbena population at the North Spit. The population has been monitored every year since 1997 and has grown from 1,700 plants to over 350,000 plants currently. The Conservation Strategy for pink sand verbena was developed and employed by IAE in 2004. This research and work has been the foundation and guideline for the ongoing monitoring used by IAE that is crucial part of the conservation strategy for this species. Pink sand-verbena is a Species of Concern by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), listed as Endangered by the State of Oregon, listed as threatened with extinction by the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center, and listed as a BLM sensitive species. BLM manual 6840 for Special Status Species provides guidance to conserve listed species and the ecosystems on which they depend. The primary threats to the species include competition from European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria), habitat disturbance by off road vehicles (ORVs), and changes to the natural disturbance regime. Repeated seeding at Coos Bay North Spit since 1997 have resulted in the largest population of pink sand verbena in Oregon. Seed collected from the North Spit is currently the only seed source available in sufficient quantities for restoration efforts of the species throughout the State. Despite continued management treatments and seeding efforts at the North Spit, recent declines in the size and reproductive effort of plants at the site, and an increase in non-native species has been observed. Continued monitoring of this population combined with assessments of associated vegetation and substrate will allow for quantifying factors that influence successful re-introduction efforts for this dune species. At New River, 50,000-150,000 seeds have been dispersed within swales throughout the fore dune almost every year from 1997 to 2014. The population size has fluctuated dramatically among years and continued seeding, in conjunction with European beachgrass control efforts, is necessary in order to establish a viable population at this site. The New River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) is an ideal site for continued re-introduction efforts of pink sand verbena as well as other native dune species as it is already host to a number of native dune species including (but not limited to), Abronia latifolia, Cammisonia cheiranthifolia, Glehnia littoralis and Lupinus littoralis. As recovery efforts for the species move forward, the New River ACEC will provide vital protected (and managed) habitat for Abronia umbellata ssp. breviflora midway through its historic range. The objective of this program is to continue to establish and monitor functioning populations of pink sand verbena at Coos Bay North Spit and New River ACEC. To collect seed at the North Spit population to enhance the North Spit and New River sites , and to expand the repopulation and conservation efforts to other sites.
Office: Bureau of Land Management
sdowley@blm.gov
